Beaded buttons

I didn't have a chance to make many gifts for Christmas this year, but I was able to make these buttons for a friend who loves to sew. I have been wanting to make these for several years. Even though the idea came out of a book called quick gifts I did not think these were quick. However I really don't do much beading so maybe they would be quick if I was more experienced at it. Anyways I loved how they turned out and I would like to make some more maybe some for me next time.

Christmas Jammies

Every year since my kids were little I gave them pajamas on Christmas eve so they would have new ones on for Christmas morning. As my boys got older they didn't really want pajamas any more. My daughter however loves pajamas and has become a collector. She still wants her Christmas PJ's. This year I decided to sew her a pair. I used a pattern she Had sewn for herself a few years ago so I knew they would fit her. I had a cute pink light weight jersey knit with a girly print. I got this fabric at Handcock's in the clearance section just because I liked it. I used every bit of the two yards I purchased. I even made a little storage bag to tote them with. She is going to New Orleans in January and these will be perfect for wearing while there. She could use the bag for shoes in her suitcase. I think she will like these and they were quick and easy to make.

Swap received

I received my package from the Christ-Centered-Christmas Swap on http://www.craftster.org/ . KLKing was a great partner and she sent some beautiful things. I put this lovely banner on my door right away. This is so pretty I may keep it up all year. I did take it down long enough to take it to work to show off to my co-worker.

Karen makes windsocks to sell so she let me pick out one that I liked. She sent me this one with a dove and a cross. This will be perfect to put out at Easter or anytime really.

Next up two pretty ornaments made out of Vertical blinds. And a lovely handcrafted card and envelope with a cross stitched design. And to add to my wooden spool collection a bag of old wooden spools. She even included a short note about the ladies who owned these. I love these.

She also sent three kinds of homemade cookies which were yummy. And a basket of tangerines from her own yard. Very tasty too. Also a little bag of Hanukkah coins. These all added to my Christmas blessings.

Swap sent

I have participated in my last swap of the year and it is all wrapped up now. For the Christ-centered- Christmas Swap I enjoyed creating a few things for my partner KLKing. She asked for a Bible cover to protect her favorite Bible. I strip pieced a cover out of mostly silks and embroidered her name and favorite bible passage on the front. It zips around three sides and is lined with gold velvet. I had not used my embroidery machine for quite a while but I just used the built in letters on the machine. I didn't want to take the time to do a template which I discovered was a mistake, because I had to pick out most of my first attempt when I realized it was not going to fit in the space. I think I spent way more time ripping out than I would have spent making a template. Oh well I think it turned out nice and my partner loved it.

I made her an apron that she can use year around. I used some floral decorator fabric I had in my stash and trimmed it with some burgundy chintz. The pattern is Butterick 4945 view D. I have used this pattern a few times and it is quick and easy as most apron patterns are. There are 5 different variations in the package. I have tried all except the tunic style. I may try that one next. I love making aprons because I can use the cute fabrics that that I could never wear in any other kind of garment. No one thinks you are weird wearing an apron with cupcakes on it but a blouse or a dress maybe.

I don't do a lot of scrap booking even though I have many supplies for it. Since this was a Christmas swap I thought I should make something for Christmas. My partner is a Messianic Jew so I was going for the blue and white colors. I spray painted the dollar store frames with white paint and glitter paint. Even though I used several coats of paint the frame still had a pink cast to them. The frames started out as brown plastic. I decided to leave well enough alone and I think they look kind of retro. I am always surprised by how long these paper projects take. Maybe that is the reason I don't do much scrap booking. Anyways I like the way they turned out and my partner liked them too.

I included some supplies in her package too. Along with some homemade Chai Tea Mix and a mug and a knitted wire and bead bracelet. I met some nice new friends with this swap so I am always open to meeting new friends.

Another swap package sent.

I have been working on a swap package for the Christ-centered Christmas Swap on Craftster. When my partner receives I will post pictures of what I made for her. I used a flat rate box that cost $10.35 to mail. The postmaster told me that if I had used another box I would have paid $22.00 to send it. Flat rate boxes are such a bargain. And you can pick them up for free at your local post office. So here's everything wrapped up and ready to go. She should get it by the end of the week. I hope she likes what I came up with.

Tatertots and Jello: A Wonderful Giveaway!

Tatertots and Jello: A Wonderful Giveaway! Check out the adorable things you can win from Lindsey's Shop. She has the cutest tea towels and zipper bags.

My partner got her package.

Now I can show the photos of some of the things I made for my partner in the Christmas stocking swap. She loves polkadots and pink and sparkles so I tried to include all these features in her stocking, I was pretty please with the way it turned out. Although I did have a mishap with the iron while I was pressing one side I melted the dotted brocade on the toe. I could think of no way to salvage it so I had to make another side. That was a bit tricky because I had cut all the pieces at the same time (2 of the brocade and 2 of the turquoise lining) so that everything would line up right. Well cutting the second side made for not so good matching and I had to do a bit of altering to make it all fit. I finally decided it was good enough and time to quit fiddling with it.

For some stocking stuffers I made a little jewelry pouch and a loyalty card wallet. I made some jewelry 3 memory wire bracelets a button pendant necklace and a charm bracelet.

I crafted a paper pieced Christmas tree pot holder. I have one for myself partially done because I thought this was so cute I wanted one for myself. I knitted her a belt/scarf in jewel toned swede yarn. And then there is the shirt cuff wallet for her son made from recycled shirt cuffs.

I had a panel for a Christmas apron and oven mitts so I sewed that up for her. I made a few of these last year including one for myself. I love mine especially the oven mitts. And the panel was purchased after Christmas so it only cost $1.25 per panel. I love those kind of bargains.

My partner has a daughter who loves zebra prints so I made a retro tie bag for her. The pattern is free from the Butterick site and it sews up really fast, She also has a 18 month old granddaughter so I made her a fabric book from another Christmas panel this one has Christmas Carols in it. Polkadotts also likes butterflies so I made her a reusable shopping bag. Last Christmas I made about 40 of these for gifts and even sold a few to a friend so she could use them for gifts. I kept several for myself I just have to remember to take them into the store with me. I also use them for work in progress bags and to tote all kinds of things. They are very useful.

A friend gave me a batch of fabric last month and there was this nativity panel in there. I thought that would be perfect for my partners Granddaughter to play with for Christmas. It was easy to put together and I think it turned out so cute. I was very surprised by how wonderful the picture I took of it turned out. I am not the best at taking pictures and I would rather spend my time crafting than taking pictures. I almost think the picture makes this look better than the real thing.

I added a few other things that were purchased that I didn't take pictures of. Polkadotts emailed me that she loves her package and will post pictures in the gallery tomorrow. I am anxious to see how she presents her new goodies.

sew i do: Happy birthday to me and a giveaway!

sew i do: Happy birthday to me and a giveaway! Look at all the adorable things you could win on Sew I Do. Novita is having a giveaway to celebrate her birthday on the last day of November. My birthday is also in November so maybe that will give me a better chance of winning.

Stocking Swap Package Received

I received my package from the Stocking Swap on Craftster. My partner polkadotts went with a cowboy theme. I got a cowboy boot stocking and two cowboy Santa ornaments, She made me a kit for making red beans and rice Cajun style. A great cookbook and some wooden utensils she personalized with wood burning.

I got a bandanna with the state of Texas because my partner lives in Texas. A great smelling herbal heating pad. A small specialty coffee and several different candies. She also included a piece of cute Christmas fabric.

She sent me fifteen vintage patterns. I think I may be able to use some of these with just a few adjustments, like altering the extremely large shoulders. I actually think I already own a few of these patterns from when I was in my teens and early 20s. Does that make me vintage too?

Stocking Swap Sent

The deadline for sending out the stocking swap package was today. I sent my package this morning before going to work. I just finished up the last two items last night about 8:00pm. So after spending the rest of the evening wrapping a few things and taking pictures I crammed everything into the box. My cat wanted to go along with the goodies but she wouldn't fit. Now for the nervous wait until she receives.

Christ-Centered Christmas Swap sendout by 12/5 - ORGANIZED CRAFT SWAPS

Christ-Centered Christmas Swap sendout by 12/5 - ORGANIZED CRAFT SWAPS: "«" I joined another swap over on Craftster The Christ-Centered Christmas Swap. I haven't had a chance to start on this one yet as I am finishing up on The Stocking Swap first. I made some things for my partners boys today. I made some leather zipper pouches for their handheld games systems. I found these to be a bit challenging because it involved geometry skills. And I didn't have a game system to try them on I just went by the measurements my partner gave me. I stopped by Wal-Mart to see if they had any on display that I could try for fit. But they only had pictures on display and the actual games were locked and in their boxes. I was pretty sure they were not going to let me open a box to see if it would fit into my little pouch. They are just plain leather now but I am thinking about adding some kind of decoration to the side. I can't decide what to put on there or if the boys would prefer it plain. To me they look like tiny toiletry bags and I like them plain.

Hawthorne Threads Giveaway - Blog Link Details

Hawthorne Threads Giveaway - Blog Link Details Check out Hawthorne Threads Blog for a chance to win a Firenze Bag Kit or a Girly Girl in Sweet fat quarter package. The winners will be announced in their newsletter on November 16th. I Think that would be a great day to win this contest as it is my birthday. I love making bags and collecting fat quarters so I would be thrilled to win either one.

Stocking Swap

http://www.craftster.org/I am taking part in a stocking swap over on Craftster. I have been crafting several things for my partner and members of her family. I am not sure if she reads my blog or not so I will wait to post pictures until she receives my package. I made a few things today from some printed panels. Those panels sew together quickly and everything I already had in my stash. Actually a friend recently gave me a bunch of fabrics and some of these panels were in there. Since my partner has a 18 month old granddaughter she requested something for her. I was happy to be crafting for a toddler as they usually like what you make them. All my kids are grown and no grands yet so I enjoyed the chance to sew for a young child again. She also has 3 boys and a daughter too. I have come up with some things for the daughter but am still thinking about what to make for the boys. I have a few ideas but maybe I will ask her for some measurements. The boys range in ages from 8 to 19 it is a bit harder to come up with something they could use. I just wanted to include something for everyone she had on her list even if it is just something small.

shopgoodwill.com - Welcome

shopgoodwill.com - Welcome I discovered Goodwill online the other day and I already won two auctions. I can't wait until they come in the mail. One is a box set of vintage creative pattern booklets. It comes in a cute red checked box. And the other is a vintage 1944 Butterick sewing book. I love collecting vintage sewing books and patterns. I won the bids at a very low price but the shipping charges are much more than the cost of the item. I think they are still worth the price. I have my eye on some more vintage crochet books and my bids in. I will know in a few days if I get those. I am not so sure it was a good thing that I discovered this or not. If I don't see it I don't want it. But it is a pretty harmless collection and really not very costly. And it is fun to win.

Audrey Hepburn

This was my daughters costume for Halloween 2008. I made the dress for her.

Sandy Costume

I am still making Halloween costumes for my 21 yr old daughter. She can sew but she doesn't like to as much as I do and she doesn't really have the time right now either. She was Sandy from Grease this year. She bought the pants the red shoes and the wig. All I made was the top. The top is just a knit tube for the body and another for the collar off the shoulder straps. I don't really know what to call this part, but it was very easy to put together. I also made a belt which doesn't really show up in this picture because it is out of the same fabric as the top. There is a gold buckle in the front. The belt was supper simple to make. She ended up with blisters on her feet from the shoes. I guess that is the price you have to pay for being that sexy hot for Halloween. She is actually much more conservative in her dress normally. But she can get aways with this look. Me on the other hand I could never be seen in public in this kind of outfit. Probably should not even wear it in private.

Finished Rug

I finish my woven rug. I think it turned out OK, at least my cat likes it. I realized I didn't do the edges correctly when I took it off the frame. I looked back at the instructions a found out I should have wrapped the pencil rod along with the last strip on the frame. However I still don't think it matters that much as the rug seems to be holding together well. It just has sort of a fringe thing going on at the sides. Next one will be better I'm sure.

These are costumes I made two years ago for my daughter and her room mate. Wilma Flintstones and Betty Rubble. Aren't they adorable.

Last year I made Audrey Hepburn's dress from Breakfast At Tiffany's . I can't find a picture right now. This year she is Sandy From Grease with the black tight pants and off the shoulder shirt. I only made the shirt. As soon as she sends me a picture I will post it. She wanted her friends to support her costume by being the pink ladies. They had their own ideas. LOL.

FatBottomBlog: Green for the holidays - a free FatBottomBag giveaway

FatBottomBlog: Green for the holidays - a free FatBottomBag giveaway I had the idea of using recycled plastic bags to make another woven rug, well Christi is a recyclers to the max. She recycles plastic bags from 20 families into these cute and clever bags. And she is having a give away on her blog for one of her bags. Check it out. She also has a tutorial for making a crocheted rug out of recycled t-shirts. I love the way she shows us how to make the t-shirt yarn in one continuous strip. I have a collection of t-shirt waiting to be turned into something.

Procrastination

This is why I rarely if ever have had my whole house clean at the same time. I get distracted so easily by my sewing and craft supplies. Well my house is beyond cyclone stage and I really need to put things away but I keep seeing all these projects I could start on or finish or at least work on as I am trying to put things away. And hey it is much more fun to work on a new project than to clean the same old house. So yesterday I decided to put together this rug weaving frame I got at the Sewing Expo a few weeks ago. I actually thought all I had to do was put a few screws in but is was a bit more involved than that. Still it didn't take that long to put together. The kit was just the supplies I needed to make the frame which is good because it saved me trying to find the right stuff at the hardware store. I think I will get some supplies to make a smaller frame for a place mat.

I started weaving my rug with stash fabric I already had. This is a great use of the fabric in your stash that you wonder why you ever bought it in the first place. As I am weaving this rug I am thinking of what I can use for the next one. This one is made with cotton fabrics about the weight you would use for quilts. I think this would be a good way to recycle tshirts. You could cut them into loops and link them together. I also thought of making one out of recycled plastic bags for an outside welcome mat maybe. Or I have some cotton knit fabrics in my stash that would make a durable rug. And if I could come up with enough felted wool I think that would be a nice rug too. I have some not so attractive drapery fabric someone gave me that might work well as a rug. It is sort of a denim color with small green sprigs on it and made up into a rug like this I think would look good. I have been trying to use up my stash this year and actually have made some progress. I knitted a couple of rugs in the past year from much of my ugly stash. The big one use about 40 yards of fabric. I even won a champion ribbon at the county fair this summer. I can't find the pictures I took of the knitted rugs maybe later. And don't worry all this stash busting has not prevented me from adding to my stash this year too. I must be prepared for anything.

Chocolate Table Runner

I finished up my chocolate table runner today. I started on it several months ago and all I had left to do was the machine quilting and the binding. I think this design is a good use of novelty fabrics. I am attracted to fabrics with candy on them especially chocolate. I usually make garments and these fabrics are not really useful in adult garments. So I thought I would do a bit of quilting. This was a kits and I had just a few pieces left over.

I decided to make some Scrappy Loyalty Card Wallets. I got the tutorial here http://spoonfullofsugargirls.blog/ . This is a great tutorial and a great way to use small scraps of fabric. I was able to make 3 with my scraps. They go together very quickly probably less than an hour start to finish. When I make little things like this I like to make more than one because it doesn't really take much longer to make three than to make one if you sew them assembly line fashion. Just do the steps for all three at sewing machine and iron and before you know it you have three wallets done. These would be a good way to give a gift card as a gift. Or you could use them to hold all your grocery store cards. By making three at once I have one to keep for myself and two to give as gifts. And I may have enough scraps left to make another outside cover for another wallet. I would have to use other scraps for the inside and the pockets. It makes me happy to use every scrap.

Sew Hip

I picked up Sew Hip at Barnes and Noble today. It is a sewing magazine from the UK. I have never seen it before. There are several items I would love to try inside, like the Rail Fence Runner, Spiderweb Quilt, and Haberdashery Hairband.

I also picked up the fall issue of Stitch and there are nine Japan inspired projects inside that look quick and easy. I may be able to try some of these right away. I got a new book too Sweet Nothings by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader. I think it will be fun to make some undergarments and nighties.

I was planning to go to the Renaissance Faire today. My daughter was home on a break from college and we wanted to go to the Faire but it was raining pretty hard when we got there so we decided to do a bit of shopping instead. I wore my new Renaissance Costume and I didn't think to take something along to change into so I wore it shopping. My daughter was a bit embarrassed but isn't that part of my job to embarrass my kids. We would have been very cold and wet if we had gone to the Faire.

http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2009/02/harvest-pumpkins.html I think I am going to have to try these cute pumpkins to decorated my mantle for the fall. I think I have some fabric in the rust and orange color range that would be perfect for these.

My goodies from the Sewing Expo.

I had a really good time at the Sewing Expo. I haven't been in a few years and I was glad to see some new things as well as old favorites. So many things to see and so much shopping to do, what fun. This is what I came home with. First my fabric purchases. I got a grey wool herringbone to make a jacket. The red and grey silk will be the lining. A brown heather I think it is a wool blend the label only said assorted fabric content. The white is a light weight silk and I'm not sure what I will do with it. It was a good buy at $6 a yard. The pink with circles is rayon maybe that will be a dress. The black and aqua is a cotton Lycra knit and I know that will be a t-shirt. The white with yellow and blue dots is very light weight cotton. I just thought that was fun and I am not sure what that will become. The cream red and aqua is a vintage feed sack. I love that color combination but again not sure what that will be. All the fabrics came from http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/ except for the feed sack. The feed sack came from http://www.oldmadequilts.com/ Where I also got a loom to weave rugs out of fabric strips. I am excited to try this and this will be a great use of some of my ugly stash. And I love the look of rag rugs.

I picked up some apron printed fabric from http://www.hancockfabrics.com/ I forgot to get this in the picture but it is adorable. The other item I got at Hancock's was a book 101 Fabulous Fat-Quarter Bags with M'Liss Rae Hawley. She was there representing her fabric line and books so I got tho chat with her a bit and she signed my book. She seems like a really fun person to be around. There are several bags I want to try like the Ribbon Purse, the Cube Purse, and the Mix and Match Tote.

I picked up some patterns and a few kits. For some reason I love kits I can start on a project right away with everything I need right there. And I don't have to go searching for some little part that I have no idea where to find. And then the second project I make from that pattern can be something that I picked out. The 3 little white patterns I got from www.quiltplususa.com/shop I could have bought many more things in there because everything was adorable and she had all kinds of purse hardware. What I got was a little coin pouch kit and a zippered Kitty Pouch kit and a pattern for a crazy quilted eyeglass case that has a spring clutch closer at the top. So I could make more I got 3 of the spring clutch and a couple of tiny purse frames. I think these would make great gifts.

From http://www.barboriginals.com/ I picked up the Flower Jacket Pattern and Three Bags Full a pattern and kit with the hardware for making the bag. The bag pattern is for 3 zippered bags that hook onto a shoulder strap but they are all separate bags and can be used individually as well as all hooked together. I think these would be great to use when traveling. I think they have potential for embellishment as well.

This booth http://www.lesfabriquesinc.com/ had the most wonderful fabrics and the nicest people. They had beautiful wools and silks and just lovely things. They were part of the fashion show on stage and showed off some of their fabrics made with Kwik Sew patterns. I got a vest pattern 3717. It is really just a oval of fabric with two arm holes cut out. But I liked how it draped and you can wear it 2 ways. Either with the arms holes closer to the top or turned around so it makes more of a shawl collar. I thought it was simple and clever.

The other patterns I got from Vogue. They had several boxes of patterns and if you bought 7 of them they were $3 each. I couldn't pass up a good bargain pattern. Most of them were quilt patterns and I had to spend some time looking through each box to find some that I liked. But I love the hunt and feel like I found some good ones. I think my favorite from there is Petal Pouches Valori Wells Designs. There are three sizes of pouches and a felt flower pin cushion.

Although I didn't buy anything here http://www.niftytriftydrygoods.com/ I loved this store. They had all kinds of vintage buttons and trims. And the store was set up so cute with everything grouped by color and all the trims were wrapped around wooden spools. They had these beautiful pendants with antique lace inside a glass frame. I almost bought one but I really want to learn how to make these. My next hobby, like I need another one.

If the http://www.sewingexpo/ comes to a town near you you should definitely go because it is so much fun to be around that many people who love to sew.

Sewing Expo

I'm so excited to be going to the Original Sewing & Quilt EXPO. http://www.sewingexpo.com/ I am prepared to do some shopping to add to my stash. I will share what I get when I get back.

Closet cleaning

I really should clean out the closet more often. I found all kinds on terrific stuff in there. I also found a bunch of junk I have no idea why I didn't just throw it always instead of storing it in the closet. This closet is one I hardly ever go into so many things got stored there and forgot about. Since my church is having a free yard sale I thought is was a good opportunity to clean this closet and get rid of some craft supplies that I am never going to use. All my kids are grown so I know I will not be doing Boy Scouts or 4H again. I was able to clear out a huge pile of stuff to take to the yard sale and I hauled about 4 huge garbage bags of junk to the trash can. I still have some more work to do there but I wanted to share my finds. I did not know I had these things. I think they belonged to my grandmother. I found about 25 vintage crochet and knitting books from the 40's and 50's. These are a few of my favorites. The red book in the front is much older than 1940's but I couldn't find a date on it. I want to try some of the pot holders and gifts. Some aprons and table mats and these cute tumbler jackets.

This book is from 1975 and it has the cutest

things in it. My favorite is the Ribbon skirt. I am going to try this for sure. I saw a Lily Pulitzer dress made out of ribbons like this.

And check out this beer can hat. Who can I make this for?

I love this bird design. This would be so cute on a towel or an apron. I will think of something to put this on.

Shopping and friends

I had the best time shopping with my friend Mary on Saturday. After getting something to eat we hit the local Antique Mall. It is more like a thrift store than antique store but sometimes you can find some treasures. Mary and I each found some buttons and we both think they are treasures. I found 3 plastic bags of buttons and Mary found one large bag. One of my bags had the buttons on cards another had many old shirt buttons and mother of pearl buttons and a rather large wooden button that looks much like an egg. The last one had some old coat buttons and one partial card of white buttons and some old hook

and eyes. And I almost forgot about the lovely crochet gloves I found. Aren't they pretty. Maybe my daughter will wear them to her next dance. (not)

So I need to clean up the buttons a bit most of the loose ones have the thread from whatever garment they came from still attached. I am thinking I may do some kind of button art for Christmas with the white buttons. Maybe a button wreath or a heart. Now if I ever get that accomplished is another story.

After the Antique Mall we went to The Goodwill Store. Not much to find there but we each came out with a couple of books. I bought 2 books, Quilts, Patchworks, and Samplers and Guideposts Christmas Celebrations. The Christmas book has a couple of angel crafts inside. I joined a swap over at http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=319590.0;topicseen for Christmas Stocking. My partner is a big angel fan so I thought these angels would be something I could craft for her.

Next we headed over to Tuesday Morning. They just opened about a month ago and I had not had a chance to check it out yet. They always have some wonderful things to look at in there. I picked up a bunch of beads, two knitting books , a crochet book, and a book on beading. I got some very pretty point protectors for my knitting needles and a whole bunch of thimbles. I also bought a set of clear letter stamps and little ink pads. I am just getting started in stamping. Actually I haven't done anything with it yet except buy the supplies. That is the way a lot of my crafting goes. I wasn't going to take a picture of my books but my camera decided to take them anyways and the surprise picture wasn't that bad at least as good as the one I try to take. Picture taking is not really something I am very skilled at. The books are The Yarn Girls Guide To Knits For All Seasons, Pretty Knits, Hooked On Crochet, and Quick and Clever Beading. How could a person resist getting those titles.

Next stop was Joanns Fabrics were I picked up several button cards for 25 cents each. And they had Butterick patterns for 99 cents so I got one for a tunic top 5390. And Vogue Patterns were $3.99 so I bought 8273 a handbag pattern.

After that we had to have some ice cream so we stopped at The Old Towne Creamery for a treat. All in all I would say it was a very good day. We had a blast.

Honey buns and jelly rolls

I received my order from http://www.fatquartershop.com/ the other day. I just love those cute little jelly rolls and honey buns. They come wrapped up so cute I don't want to unroll them to see the fabrics. Well I got 2 of the honey buns called Wonderland and the fabrics are adorable and I couldn't resist opening one up. As soon as I opened it I wanted to make something out of it. I found a free tutorial for a sweet little bag. http://www.fatquartershop.com/Free-Quilt-Patterns/files/fp_sweet-treat-bag.pdf I decided I needed to whip one of these babies up. You can make 4 bags out of one honey bun and they are all lined and enclosed by machine. This is my kind of project quick and easy. And they are oh so cute too. These would make a great gift.

Grosgrain: Poppy Boutonniere Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Here is a lovely poppy boutonniere tutorial at Grosgrain. I must try this. Grosgrain: Poppy Boutonniere Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Goodwill sewing box

I found this sewing box at The Goodwill Store a few weeks ago. I thought it was a treasure at least I like several things that were inside. I love finding someones full sewing box and seeing what is inside that someone saved. The box itself doesn't really appeal to me as much as what is inside. Although the box is kind of cute. It is made of twisted straw and some kind of pale pink plastic and it has little pink wooden beads for feet. The inside is pink satin with a pin cushion lid and a clear plastic tray on top. And there were all kinds of goodies inside. I got everything for $5.00 what a deal.

Inside was a few pieces of lace and several hand sewing needle books and a couple of packages of machine needle, several snap cards and some hook and eye cards and a pink metal teeth zipper as well as a blue one.

My personal favorites inside were a little embroidery hoop and some very tiny mother of pearl buttons on tiny cards they look to be old. And to add to my collection of wooden spools this box had 3 of them inside. I also love the little plastic ruler with advertising on it. Back in the day companies gave away sewing notions to advertise their business. The 2 plastic thimbles inside the embroidery hoop were inside the sewing box. They both have adds on them too. The other ones outside the hoop are ones I had collected in the past. The 3 closest to the hoop are plastic advertising thimbles. The one in the front is silver and the second one from the front is bronze maybe. The 2 in the back are newer but I really don't remember where I got them. I do use a thimble for all my hand sewing. I think they are a great sewing aid they really help guide your needle. I also like just collecting them as they don't take up much space and they are not expensive. I prefer the silver ones to use for hand sewing as the plastic thimbles are to thick and the newer ones make your finger all sweaty. The silver thimbles just have a nice feel to them and they don't make your finger sweat. So these are some things I like and they make me happy to see them.

Using every scrap

I picked up this quilt pattern Off Your Rocker Wacky Log Cabin Quilt from Carolina Patchworks. I wanted to make a queen sized quilt which need 49 coordinating fat quarters. I had 2 collections in my stash one with 20 fats and the other with 24. My daughter gave them to me for Christmas. I just had to find a few more in my regular stash and I came up with 50 that went together well enough for the quilt. I really don't do very much quilting but I like these stack and whack quilts because they go together relatively quickly for a quilt. I also love the idea that this was wacky and nothing had to be precise and it had a nice scrappy look to it. Well the quilt top is finished I just have to decide how to quilt it and finish it.
Since the quilt used 18 inch squares and fat quarters are usually 18" X 22" I had fifty 3 to 4 inch strips left over plus all the pieces I trimmed while making the quilt top. I was determined to use every scrap so here is what I came up with. First I used the trimming to stuff a pin cushion. I thought this worked well because it made the pin cushion weigh more than with just fiberfill. I like a weightier pin cushion.

First I made an apron that used 24 of the strips for the skirt and 4 more for the waistband and ties. I cut wedges about 3 inches on the bottom and 1 1/2 inch on the top to make the skirt flair out a bit. I lined it with some fabric left over from another project. I love the way it turned out even though I prefer an apron with a bib too because well I just need more coverage.

















To use up the rest of the strips I made 2 pillows. The round one used half of 16 strips and some more of the leftover brown fabric I used to line my apron. Lastly I used the rest of the strips to make the rectangle pillow. Now all I have to do is finish the quilt and use it and the pillows on my bed. The apron will be used in the kitchen as I haven't yet found a use for an apron in the bedroom.

A couple of new tops

I am getting ready for the fall weather with some new tops with sleeves. This orange dottie one is Simplicity 2690. When I had it finished I thought it looked sort of clownish because of all the dots. But when I put it on I think I like it. I know I like the pattern in general and will probably try another one in solid or more toned down print.

This is New Look 6702 view B. This was quick and easy out of jersey knit. It was a bit to low cut for me so I sewed up more of the front opening above the twist. Now I feel like I can wear it in public,

This one is a tunic style made out of a silky polyester ethnic print fabric. The pattern includes a pair of pants that I made but didn't take a picture of. They fit well and they are a slim cut pant with a side zipper. The pattern is Simplicity 2816 it includes a dress which is a longer version on the tunic that I made, a short jacket and a long jacket. I am considering the long jacket as a project for the future.